Something Stinks in Hamlet by M.E. Castle - OPTIONAL

Fakespeare: Something Stinks in Hamlet by M.E. Castle, 245 pages. Imprint (Macmillan), 2017. $14.

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Kyle Word has problems. He has an annoying little brother he calls Gross Gabe.  He also has a hard time reading, so he likes to draw comic book pictures while his good friend Becca writes the stories.  But his biggest problem is that he has been sucked into the book Hamlet with Gross Gabe and know-it-all fellow fifth grader, Halley, and he can’t return to regular life unless he and his two companions can help Hamlet win back his stinky kingdom.

This book has fun illustrations that break up the text.  I liked the references to Hamlet, though I’m not sure 5th graders would get them.  However, the Shakespeare is so loosely based, maybe it doesn’t matter.  The humor involves food fights, stink bombs, and a wagon full of manure landing on the king, plus the fact that Kyle has to pee through several chapters.  If that’s your cup of tea, grab a skull and Hamlet on.

Michelle in the Middle, Teacher